After hearing testimony from the officials, the House and Senate committees on insurance and commerce adopted a resolution expressing opposition to the proposed rule.

The proposed rule seeks to reduce carbon dioxide emissions nationwide by 30 percent by 2030, but it would require Arkansas’ power sector to reduce emissions by 44 percent.

“We believe that this rule is very likely to result in the closure of a couple of large coal plants in Arkansas,” Duane Highley, president and CEO of the Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, told the panel.

Highley said the plants most likely to be shut down are the White Bluff Electric Power Plant in Jefferson County and the Independence Steam Electric Station in Independence County.

He told the panel that according an analysis commissioned by AECC, “each of those plants has an economic impact to their region of about $600 million a year. Think about the impact on tax revenues and schools whenever that plant closes. And the impact of the jobs in the region just from those two plants is over 1,200 persons per plant that are impacted in this economic analyses.”

AECC’s analysis showed that about 480 jobs would be directly impacted at each plant but also included estimates of jobs that would be impacted indirectly if the plants closed.

Paul Means, manager of government affairs for Entergy Arkansas, testified that “the climate is changing” but said the proposed rule would have “hardly any impact at all on what’s going on worldwide.”

“It’s going to be a huge investment for very little return,” he said.

Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality Director Teresa Marks told the panel that Arkansas has a higher burden than most other states because of the recent construction of two new coal-fired power plants in the state. She said the comments that ADEQ will submit on the rule will include arguments that Arkansas should be given credit for exporting coal energy and wind energy to other states, among other things.

“I don’t expect the rule to look the same when it’s actually finalized. I think that there will be changes, and hopefully those will be changes that are going to recognize situations that we have in Arkansas,” said Marks, who is retiring effective Sept. 30.

She also said the state could join in a multi-state plan to reduce CO2 emissions, which would allow “a little more leeway” in achieving the required reductions.

Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, chairman of the Senate Insurance and Commerce Committee, noted that 12 states have joined in a lawsuit alleging the EPA is improperly using the Clean Air Act to advance the rule. Marks said she would not support bringing a lawsuit to oppose the rule at this time.

“I think it’s premature till we can see what the final rule looks like,” she said, adding that she was not convinced the EPA’s actions were in conflict with the Clean Air Act.

“I guess that’s where the 12 attorney general disagree with you,” Rapert said.

A resolution by Rapert and Rep. Tommy Wren, D-Melbourne, expressing the committees’ opposition to the proposed rule was adopted in a voice vote.